Pipe-cleaner



W. K. BENEDICT.

PlPE CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20. 1917 Patented Mar. 1, 1921..

ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'WILLIAM K. BENEDICT, OF NEW-CITY, YORK.

; PIPE-CLEANER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IVILLIAM K. BENE- DICT, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of New City, Rockland county, in the State of NewYork, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Pipe-Cleaners, of which the following is a specl fication. 7

My invention relates to a novel pipe cleaner which is made according toa special new process, and which is inexpensive, eflicient, and durable.

For this purpose, I take the feather of a chicken or similar fowl, andtreat it in the particular manner described hereinafter, therebyproducing a pipe cleaner having the desirable qualities mentioned above.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 represents an ordinary chicken feather in its natural state;

Fig. 2 shows the same after it has been cut in accordance with myinvention;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a pipe bowl and its stem with theimproved cleaner in position therein,

Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views, showing the method of inserting thecleaner in the bowl and the stem, illustrating more particularly theguiding of the cleaner by means of the pointed end; and

Figs. 6 and 7 are side and top views respectively of a slightly modifiedform of construction.

In carrying out my invention, I take one of the long, fairly stifffeathers of a chicken or like fowl, although I prefer not to use duckfeathers on account of their containing too much fat or oil. A featherof suitable character is shown in Fig. 1, where A designates the centrallongitudinal spline or shaft of the chicken feather, and B the soft,very flexible transverse barbs extending from said spline. From acertain point, say A to the free end or tip A the spline A is almost asflexible as the barbs B, but the remaining portion of the spline is muchstifl'er. According to my invention, I cut off the flexible tip of thefeather, from the point A at which the shaft A shows a marked loss ofstiffness, and this operation is performed by means of two straightoblique cuts C, C converging toward the tip and intersecting on thespline at an acute angle, say of about 70 degrees. The downlike barbs Dat the base of the feather are removed in any. suitable manner. ThisSpecification of Letterslatent. Patented :Mj 1 .1921, Application filedJuly 20, 1917. Serial No. 181,682. I

leaves a feather'portion which has much greater stiffness than thenatural feather, and the pointed end of which is much better suitedfor'the eflicient cleaning of a pipe than the soft and somewhat roundedtip of a feather in its natural shape. 7

Hav ng been cut as set forth, the feather is Sub ected to the followingtreatment: It is first sterilized 'by'boiling in hot water, to which'ispreferably added a small amount of soda to more readily take out thegrease and dirt, and assist in cleaning the feather. After thistreatment the feather is open, limp, and out of shape. It is thenpartially dried in an oven or on a heated table, and to some extentregains its original shape. Before the feather is quite dry, and beforeit has resumed its original shape fully, it is dip ed into a weaksolution of hydrogen peroxld to bleach it. After being allowed to soakin this solution for a while, the feather is taken out and dried in theair (without heating) at the end of this final drying, the feather hasbeen restored to the shape it had immediately before the sterilizintreatment, and is ready for use.

The sharply pointed tip of the improved pipe cleaner is, by its shapeand relative stiffness, much better adapted than ordinary feather tips,to be inserted and worked to and fro, as well as rotated in the stem andbowl of a pipe, so as to thoroughly clean the same with a minimum oftrouble and effort. As clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the sharplypointed and relatively stiff end serves as a reliable guide in enteringthe feathers into the bowl or mouth piece. The uncut tip of an ordinaryfeather in which the end of the spline is not well defined, and which isvery flexible, would make the insertion quite difficult. The improvedcleaner will curl up in the bowl of the pipe where it connects with thestem, in the manner illustrated as at E (Fig. 3), and thus clean thebowl efficiently at this point. This property of curling up under theconditions set forth is not possessed by any other pipe cleaner, so faras I know. The relatively great stiffness of the new pipe cleaner, andthe par ticular form given to its tip, as well as the treatmentemployed, contribute to greatly increase the durability of the pipecleaner.

I prefer to use white feathers, for the reason that their appearance ismore attractive and that they show moreplainly the amount of dirtremoved from the pipe, and

reinforced entering tip, in the form of a'-' spiral brush. 7 A part ofthe barbs at the tip are cutaway at each side of the spline F as at Gand H, and a thin wire I is wound about the spline atthis point, form'-'ing the barbs into a spiral brush, at the same time reinforcing therelatively thin end of the spline. This forms a stiif entering brushwhich cuts away and loosens the accumulation in the, pipe-stem, which isthen cleaned by the following-wider barbs J of the feather. Thus a veryeffectual cleaning action takes place.

I have illustrated anddescribedh preferred and satisfactory embodimentof my invention, but it is obvious that changes may be made thereinwithin the spirit and scope thereof, as defined in the appended claim. V

I claim:

A pipe cleaner comprising a feather treated to remove oil and dirttherefrom and rendered tough and sterilized, and having substantiallyone fourth at the tip thereof removed on cuts, the lines of which extendsubstantially at right angles to each other and meet at theirintersection with the quill of the feather whereby said treated and cutfeather is provided with a tapering outer end for easy insertion in thesmoke passage of a pipe.

V In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have si nedmy name.

WILLIAM BENEDICT.

